Click this link to get a print friendly worksheet and backing track for your practice.

It’s been a while, but it’s great to be back in front of the video camera.

If you’re finding it impossible and frustrating to solo over those tricky jazz standards like All The Things You Are (hint: you haven’t been the first person to drop those key changes)…

It’s probably because you aren’t doing what my new Youtube video demonstrates.

In this brand new video lesson (which includes a FREE workbook and backing track), you’re going to get the down & dirty on guide tones, and how they are an essential shortcut for easily mastering the changes of any jazz standard.

You’ll learn which notes to target over those tricky chord progressions and still get through alive and kicking to the other side.

Check out the video now and let me know what you think (remember to get that free workbook).

There’s loads (loads!) of information on jazz guitar on the internet. You could download something new every day for the rest of your life, and there would still be enough to sift through 10 times over.

But:

Information alone is not enough to help you progress.

Information which fails to ‘join the dots’ and help you see the full picture of learning to play jazz guitar and improvise like a pro – is more hindrance than help.

Information without a chance to discuss with other like-minded people, or to be able to ask questions to make sure you’re on the right track, is a slow, confusing route to mastery – if in fact it ever leads you there at all.

Random free lessons may not cost much in dollars, but it costs you way more in the precious resource that you can never replenish – your time.

It’s time to stop wandering the abyss of disconnected, conflicting advice on jazz guitar.

Today I thought I could share with you a nice video that FretDojo Academy student Paul Flynn recorded, with a bit of feedback on his experience with my Fundamentals of Jazz Guitar Improvisation course (that re-opened this week).

Here’s the link to the video to find out what he has to say about the course. Could be worth a look if you’re considering booking a place:

Here are the answers and what you need to know about the course (if you have any more questions you need answers to, just send me an email):

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“What will this course help me achieve?”

— In this course you’ll learn how to improvise confidently over the most common chord progressions of the jazz language. To do this, you’ll acquire authentic jazz vocabulary and learn how to apply it to the fretboard in a confident way.

The result – you’ll be comfortable taking a solo when someone asks you to, and you’ll be happy with how you sound. You’ll no longer get lost in the ‘fretboard maze’, and you’ll start to solo in a much more melodic way – rather than just ‘scientifically’ by applying a bunch of scales and arpeggios.

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“Are the video portions of the lessons downloadable? Will I be able to keep the course materials, including the diagrams and sheet music?”

— Yes – All the lesson materials, including the videos, are downloadable if you want to revisit the material at a later date at your own pace. I’ve now arranged the course so you have lifetime access of the online version of all course materials as well.

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“What is the duration of the course?”

— The course is a 10-week program, starting next Monday, 30th of April.

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“Is there any flexibility in the pace of the course, or is the assignments/feedback on a rigid schedule?”

— I’ve designed the course to be a coaching program comprising of 6 main modules, which will be released over a period of 10 weeks. For those of you that want to receive a certificate of completion for the course, every few weeks there will be a short assessment to complete (i.e. you submit a video of your playing for the assessment). Note though that these are optional – if you want to simply go through the material on your own at your own pace that’s fine too.

There will be periods throughout the course which will allow for consolidation of the material covered. For this course, I wanted a balance between the program being too rigid or too flexible – I’ve designed the course with these considerations in mind.

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“What happens if I need to miss part of the course due to holiday or travel commitments?”

— Don’t worry – extensions for assignments are available on request if you want to still obtain the certificate for completing the course. As mentioned above, the course materials, including the videos, are all downloadable to your computer if you wish to review the material at a later date. You also have lifetime access on the online version of the course.

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“Can I join the program after the cut-off date of 29th of April (this Sunday)?”

— Unfortunately this is not possible, as enrollments need to be finalized on that day so that students can move through the program as a group.

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“Tell me – what exactly is included in this course? Are the video lessons live, or pre-recorded?”

— The bulk of this course consists of high quality pre-recorded video lessons, which you can either watch online or download for later. You can watch the videos on-demand, at any time that suits your schedule.

At key points in the course, you have the opportunity to submit recorded examples of your playing to me (in either video or audio format, and get detailed and helpful feedback on how to progress.

The course will also consist of bonus live Q & A sessions using the latest in video conferencing technology. You have the option to attend these sessions to ask me any questions about the material covered in the course.

Full details of the lessons included in all the modules of the course can be found at this link (scroll down to the section with the blue bars):

— When I designed this course, I particularly had in mind a guitarist that had never really gotten confident with jazz improvisation, or was confused about how to learn it. If you resonate with this, then this course is definitely for you. This course is NOT for a rank beginner at guitar.

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“What happens if I can’t attend the bonus live Q & A sessions?”

— No problem – if you can’t attend for whatever reason, you can still submit questions in advance and I’ll answer them in the session. I’ll then post you a recording of the session afterward so you don’t miss out.

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“What skill level on guitar is required for this course?”

— If you’re an intermediate level guitarist, this course would be a good fit for you. (Important note: It’s not necessary to have prior experience playing jazz on guitar for this course, but it would help.) If you’ve been playing for at least a couple of years, have familiarity with basic chord shapes and scale patterns, you’ll be fine. Note, though, as I mentioned above, this course is NOT for a rank beginner level guitarist that is still getting to grips with the basics of guitar playing.

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“If I want to participate in the assessment tasks, do I need any special equipment to send you videos of my playing for feedback and assignments?”

— You just need a webcam or inbuilt camera on your computer, or a smartphone to record video. The video doesn’t need to be super high quality, just a basic video you would get from a smartphone would be fine. Some previous students of the course were initially concerned about this aspect of participating in the course, but everyone quickly got the hang of recording videos and uploading them just fine – full instructions of how to do this are provided in the course.

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“Will beginners be able to participate in this course?”

— It depends on what you mean by ‘beginner’. If you’re a beginner at jazz – that should be ok, as long as you have the basics solidly under your fingers of guitar playing in other styles (e.g. blues, rock, classical etc). It’s recommended though that you have a little prior experience of jazz guitar and have at least tried to improvise in some way. But if you’re a complete beginner of guitar, then this course isn’t the right fit for you.

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“Do I need to know a lot about jazz theory in order to do the course?”

— No – beyond understanding what a major, minor and dominant 7th chord is, it isn’t necessary to have more theory knowledge than that. We’ll cover the essentials you need to know throughout the course.

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“Do I need to be able to read music?”

— It’s not necessary to sight-read music, but it would make things easier for you if you can at least ‘limp’ through notation enough to be able to figure out the basic notes and rhythms. At any rate, TAB will be provided for all the musical examples. Several prior students of the course did not have skills in reading music notation and they still completed the course just fine.

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“Am I too old to be able to get better at jazz guitar and learn to improvise confidently?”

— You’re never too old to learn. Don’t talk yourself into that mindset. I have had an 84 year-old taking lessons with me and he was a star student – so you’re likely still a spring chicken in my book!

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Thanks everyone, let me know if you have any more questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.

A heads up – enrollments to this course close this Sunday 29th of October. Places are filling up fast. Don’t miss out – enroll in the program now by clicking here:

So you head along to your first local jam session, down at the pub on the corner.

The stale beer smell hits you as you enter the dimly lit scene. You see the house band in the corner cutting through rhythm changes with keen jazz enthusiasts intently listening to every nuanced note being played.

Shakily, you open up your guitar case.

You try to assume an air of confidence as you introduce yourself to Kyle, the bandleader. With a narrowed gaze, he gives you a thinly veiled pop quiz on jazz to assess whether you “know your stuff”.

Your moment has come. You’re summoned for your turn on the bandstand. There’s an awkward pause on stage, and the pianist looks at you puzzled.

Oh yeah, it’s time to count it off.

You play the head and then do some comping. So far, so good.

But then Kyle gives you “the nod”. It’s time for you to take an improvised solo.

But it doesn’t go to plan.

You’re not keeping up with the changes. You frantically try to switch between scale and arpeggio patterns in vain…

The “crash and burn” begins, and an uncomfortable feeling starts to well in the pit of your stomach.

Through the cascade of wrong notes, sloppy rhythms and the predictable eye-rolling from your other band members, that little voice inside your head says “I told you that you weren’t ready for this”…

…

Don’t let this happen to you. If you’re going to survive (and thrive) in the jazz scene, you need to get your foundations of improvising sorted.

Learn how you can quickly create a rock-solid basis for great sounding jazz guitar improvisation here (this week only):